breweries

"Fourex, The memory of the last bottle sells the beer in the next bottle of XXXX."

Thank you for the translation.

Victorian brothers Nicholas and Edward Fitzgerald bought the site of a failing distillery on Milton Road in 1877 and opened a brewery which they named Castlemaine after a brewery they already owned in Castlemaine, Victoria. The first beer was brewed there in 1878 and was named XXX Sparkling Ale. XXXX Bitter was introduced in 1924 after Castlemaine brewery employed a German brewer, Alhois William Leitner. Cartoon character Mr Fourex appeared in advertising at the same time. In 1928 Perkins brewing company was purchased by Castlemaine Brewing to form Castlemaine Perkins Limited. Castlemaine Perkins merged with Tooheys in 1980 to form Castlemaine Tooheys and the company was acquired by Alan Bond's Bondcorp in 1985 and taken over by Lion Nathan in 1990. XXXX Gold was introduced in 1991. In 2009 Japanese company Kirin Holdings assumed 100% ownership of Lion Nathan which was renamed Lion in 2011. Although the Milton Brewery has been in operation on the same site since 1877 much of the production of XXXX Bitter now takes place in the Tooheys brewery in Western Sydney and XXXX Gold is also produced in South Australia. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/castlemaine-perkins-brewery-histo...

Roll out the Barrel comes to mind ! Now that's working up a thirst ! If I have read / guessed correctly, the beer is Mc Crackens XXX Ale? There was a Robert Mc. Cracken who was a brewer in the 1800's, but his business was taken over by Carlton&United Breweries in 1907.

Hi Bob. McCracken does appear to be the brand on the barrel. Victorian beer in North Queensland, who would have thought?

State Library of Queensland Were there beer wars due to the brand loyalties in the different Territories ? I'm sure that like us Poms, your blokes wouldn't give a XXXX about who's beer they drank when the needs be. We know for fact that you Diggers will cry your eyes out if a pubs got no beer ....... Ask Slim Dusty ;-)) Here'a a picture from my pal Kaye, of Cairns Station, taken about the same time. I wonder how many barrels got to their destination during this arduous cask task !

Cyclones and floods were a problem in Queensland in 1911 as they are today 100 years on. On 11 January 1911 a tropical cyclone passed from the Gulf of Carpentaria inland and caused severe destruction at Marburg in South West Queensland with areas suffering gale force winds. The Cairns-Kuranda railway has a spectacular history of dislocation by landslides, the earliest of which was recorded during its construction in 1891. The most disruptive incident however, occured on the 15th December 1910 when a landslide, after a period of intense rainfall, partly closed the Kuranda end of the no 10 tunnel for more than 2 months. Trains could only travel as far as the tunnel and passengers had to de-train and walk around the outside of the tunnel to another train to continue their journey. Because the railway was the main freight connection between inland towns and the port at Cairns, the blockage was very disruptive. Over 300 men were used to clear the damage and stabilise the slide. It was not until 6 March 1911 that the line was cleared and reopened to all traffic. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-100-years-ago-cairns-k...

Whatever is the weather the supply of beer remains important.

While two Bundaberg drink companies have stood the test of time – Bundaberg Rum and Bundaberg Brewed Drinks – they are just part of the Region’s drink manufacturing history that spans back nearly 150 years. In the late 1800s it was easier to make products locally than transport them from somewhere else. Our thriving sugarcane industry and fertile soil meant everything needed for a top-shelf beverage was at the manufacturers’ fingertips. It was around this time Austrian native, Gustav Steindl, expanded his operations to Bundaberg, after running a brewery with his brother in Maryborough. In 1883 Steindl established City Brewery Bundaberg near Baldwin Swamp, which had easy access to the spring water once available there. After selling the rights to City Brewery, Steindl established Bundaberg Brewery. The brewery was flooded in 1893 and moved to higher ground on the corner of Princess and Tomlinson Street (formerly known as Brewery Street) to new, larger premises. An arched gateway with ‘Bundaberg Brewery’ displayed in wrought iron overhead welcomed guests, and the front fence had a top rail for farmers to hitch their horses. Steindl sold pasteurized lager, bitter ale, light ale and stout in bulk. Bottled brandy and other spirits were sold under the Seppelt label and cordial under the O.T label. His effort and talent were rewarded with four medals at an 1894 Commonwealth brewing competition. After the mid 1900s, drink companies flourished in Bundaberg. A generation of families in the 1940s fell in love with cordial label Salters. John Salter took over the Bundaberg cordial manufacturer ‘Castles’ in 1940 and operated under that name for many years. In 1956, he built a new purpose-built ‘Salters Cordial Works’ on the corner of Walla and Woondooma Streets. Upstairs was an 1800-square-foot syrup room. The factory capped its last bottle in 1982 but the iconic building remains part of the central Bundaberg streetscape. Source: www.crushmagazine.com.au/call-me-old-fashioned/